Crack Open the Moon
by RedEyedEdward
Summary: On a nighttime raid in the ruins of Seattle, a hunter comes face-to-face with someone from the past.


**Red Eyed Edward Contest**

 **Title** : Crack Open _the Moon_

 **Word Count** : 1555

 **Rating** : M

 **Summary** : On a nighttime raid in the ruins of Seattle, a hunter comes face-to-face with someone from the past.

 **Disclaimer** : The author does not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.

The crumbling skyline of Seattle appeared at twelve o'clock, silhouetted against the softly glowing sky. I slanted one wingtip to angle just to the left of the jagged spear of the Space Needle. One slow, full wingstroke, and I held a steady glide, gradually losing speed and altitude.

The mist-soaked wind ruffled my hair and my nostrils flared at the scent of prey scurrying through the streets below. At my shoulder in tight formation, James beat his wings once and slipped into position behind me and to my left. As we skimmed silently over the dark city, I could sense sparks of life force dotting the buildings surrounding us, and my heartbeat quickened.

I was hungry.

Lord Aro had sent us further afield to hunt tonight, informing us in his unemotional tones that the villages on the Olympic Peninsula near Forks were at risk of becoming underpopulated. Aro had been unusually taciturn lately, and rumors had been flying among the rank-and-file. It had been Lord Caius who had drawn me aside and given me a secondary mission, informing me of the location and items I was to acquire. I had the coded instructions and map in a sealed pocket of my skinsuit. I tapped the pocket reflexively and wondered what significance those items held. Before the night was over, we were to acquire them and be on our way back to home base.

But first, we would slake our hunger.

I gradually cupped my wings, my body streamlined with the wind in preparation for landing. With one or two light, quick beats, I reduced speed further and flared to a pinpoint landing on the flat roof of a fifteen story building in the heart of the former downtown. Beside me, James touched down gently and in perfect position. Much as I hated going hunting with James, I had to admit his skills were impeccable.

As long as he obeyed orders this time, we would have no problems.

I folded my wings and crouched low, ducking around some boxy superstructures. At the rooftop's edge, I dilated my pupils and extended my focal length, focusing on the streets below. James was at my shoulder, leaking lust all over the place.

"Lock down your emotions," I hissed sharply.

James scoffed. "There's nothing around but human trash. And you know they're blind."

"It doesn't matter. We maintain discipline. That's an order."

He scowled but reined in his life energy until I could only barely sense his perverted thoughts. I turned my mind away, not wanting to wallow in the filth that saturated James' brain.

He stiffened, coming to attention at a brief sound from below. Now I could hear it too. I sensed the vivid life force as the human creatures scuttled around a corner. There were two of them, their energies lurid against the backdrop of lesser animals, rats and squirrels and other low-energy mammals, skulking in the rubble of the ruined city.

They were scurrying along at a good pace for their kind, muffled in dark cloaks that made them nearly invisible even to my eyes.

With a clatter of gravel and rush of wings, James was gone, swooping down the dark alleyway between two buildings, aiming for the smaller of the two humans.

He was supposed to wait until I gave the order, but I could understand his impatience.

I was starving.

I launched myself off the roof in his wake, the larger of the two humans steady in my vision as though there were a bulls-eye painted on his back.

It only took a moment. James used the force of his landing to knock the human to the ground. The blow tore her hood from her head, releasing a flood of curly brown hair that reached almost to her waist and baring her heart-shaped face. James gave a low, obscene gurgle and dragged the nearly senseless woman to the crumbling sidewalk.

Something flickered in my thoughts, a half-forgotten memory, a sense of déjà vu as I whipped past the torn awnings and peeling paint of the storefronts that lined the street.

And then I was inside the woman's mind. The wind was still knocked out of her, and she was gaping at the lean, muscular figure holding her down. He leered, and terror swamped her brain. His wings were folded, so she wasn't yet aware what he was, thinking him only one of the local bandit scum who chose to prey upon their fellow humans. He shifted his weight so he was straddling her hips, grabbed one of her breasts and pinched hard.

"Ooh, sweet and tasty," he jeered. He brushed his lips over her cheek and nipped at her ear. His fangs flashed in the murky light.

She yelped at the sudden sting as warm blood trailed down her neck, and both James and I sucked in our breaths at the heady, rich odor. All my senses quickened, and the familiar bone-deep craving surged in my belly, bringing with it a flash of lust I could not suppress.

I could sense her fear, realizing it was still wholly misinformed. She thought James was going to rob her.

Buried in her mind I sensed some secret that she kept closely guarded, some important piece of knowledge she was sworn to protect. But before I could probe deeper, James had ripped her cloak from her body.

She opened her mouth to scream, but quick as a flash, James stuffed a corner of her cloak into her mouth. He ripped open the buttons of her tunic and grinned as her ample bosom lay exposed to the chilly night air, gleaming in the pale phosphorescence from the sky.

"Don't make a sound, bitch," he whispered, "and maybe I'll spare your life."

He fondled one of her breasts and extended one fingernail, delicately slicing her skin in a semicircle just below the nipple. I could sense her sharp pain mixed with tingling as he drew his long tongue across the line of dark red beads welling out of her breast.

He laughed and ground himself against her.

I shut my mind to their struggles. I detested the way James played with his food. I was only a few seconds away from my own target. At the last minute the human's head jerked up; perhaps he had heard my passage through the air.

But as humans always were, he was too slow. I struck him hard mid-torso and rode him to the ground. He didn't have a chance against my genetically augmented speed and strength. He outweighed me by maybe fifty pounds, but I pinned him to the broken concrete, our faces only inches apart. His eyes were wide, his breaths fast and shallow. He was staring at me, staring not with fear but with some other expression on his face.

I lowered my head to slash at his neck. My fangs were already descending. I would make it quick. I didn't believe in causing unnecessary pain. The humans couldn't help it that they were inferior, fit for nothing but a life as cattle. I could imagine his blood, sweet and hot on my tongue, reviving me as I gulped down the succulent liquid, that burning, ever-present thirst slaked at last.

Then he spoke.

"Edward?"

His voice was incredulous.

I shook my head. There was no way this human could know my name. For a long beat our eyes locked and I froze, holding back the killing blow.

I had never delayed a strike before. My record as a hunter was flawless.

His breathing accelerated and I lowered my head again.

"Edward! Don't you recognize me?"

His voice scraped across my nerves. The dim memory flickered in my head once more. I had closed my mind, knowing I would receive nothing other than James' gluttony. But now I hesitated, my eyes fixed on the man before me.

I could barely remember my life as a human, before Lord Caius reaped me so many years ago and brought me to his laboratory to be made into a superior being. I had seen my own health records, my genotype laid out in black and white. But all that scarcely mattered as I stared into the eyes of a man who was almost—but not quite—familiar.

"It is you! Don't you remember, Carlisle and Esme, Alice...Bella? Edward!"

I heard a roaring in my ears.

Something pierced my own neck, a sharp sting. I put a hand up to it reflexively, but the face of the man in front of me was already blurring.

All my muscles weakened and I slumped to the uneven gravel.

As I rolled over onto my back, helpless, unable to move a muscle, a tall figure in a black body suit loped toward us from the building across the way. Her shapely legs were tucked into short combat boots. She clasped a machine gun loosely under one arm.

She smoothed back a strand of chestnut hair that had escaped from a tight bun and grinned in triumph. "So we finally bagged a couple."

The man struggled to his feet, still breathing hard. "Yes. Your plan worked."

She rounded on him, her eyes flashing. "I told you it would. I told you it was worth the risk."

"Okay, okay, you were right… Dr. Swan."


End file.
